Language Overflow

"Break a leg" is an idiom in theatre used to wish a performer "good luck". Well-wishers typically say "Break a leg" to actors and musicians before they go on stage to perform. The origin of the phrase remains obscure. The expression reflects a theatrical superstition, in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre, as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use. Among professional dancers, the traditional saying is not "break a leg", but "merde". For playwrights, it's sometimes changed to...

Damkerng T.

His first sentence is สวัสดีครับ sawasdee khrap. (Actually, สวัสดีครับ (or สวัสดีค่ะ for female speakers) is probably the most common first sentence in any TV programs.)

@CowperKettle Just one leg, not two! :P

CowperKettle

@DamkerngT. I learned this expression from this movie:

Brain Donors

Brain Donors (1992) is an American comedy movie released by Paramount Pictures, loosely based on the Marx Brothers comedies A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races (the two films the Marx Brothers did after leaving Paramount). The film co-stars John Turturro, Mel Smith, and Bob Nelson in the approximations of the Groucho, Chico, and Harpo roles, with Nancy Marchand in the Margaret Dumont dowager role. The project was filmed as Lame Ducks; however, when the film's producers (David and Jerry Zucker) left for another studio, Paramount scrapped the publicity campaign, changed the title, and withdrew...

Damkerng T.

5:48 AM

@CowperKettle I learned it from The Producers!

CowperKettle

A good movie!

Krishn Shweta

@DamkerngT. Which language is that?

Damkerng T.

@KrishnShweta Thai. (^_^)

Ooohh...

5:49 AM

Hi all

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle Yes! It's a hilarious movie!

The Producers (2005) - Bad Luck to Say Goodluck on Opening Night

►

Break a leg is at ~ 1:10.

CowperKettle

(0:

Damkerng T.

Hi! @Cardinal

Cardinal

@snailplane I see, Thank you

Krishn Shweta

Can you tell me how do we say * I miss you* in that language @DamkerngT.

@Cardinal Hi

Damkerng T.

5:52 AM

@KrishnShweta ผมคิดถึงคุณ ("Phom khid theung khun") for male speakers or (ดิ)ฉันคิดถึงคุณ ("(Di)chan khid theung khun") for female speakers. But if you don't want to mention "I" or "you", you can avoid that by simply saying คิดถึงนะ ("Khid theung na"). (^_^)

Krishn Shweta

@DamkerngT. Cool thanks

Damkerng T.

My pleasure!

Krishn Shweta

:-)

And what should be used power cut or power off or power our ?

I mean Power out

Damkerng T.

Is it just out or does someone cut it (like when you won't pay the bill :P)?

Krishn Shweta

Lol... Sometimes they won't supply the power even after paying the bills :-P

Damkerng T.

6:04 AM

Haha! True! :D

You can use ไฟดับ ("fire dub") ~ power went out, when you get a power outage.

Krishn Shweta

Only English ^_^

Damkerng T.

Ah, I see! Sorry, I thought you were asking about Thai. :D

Krishn Shweta

Hehe....

Damkerng T.

2

Q: A verb to describe a "Power Cut"

In each of the following sentences, what are the natural English verbs/phrases you would use? You are using your computer and then a power cut "happens?". You were beside your computer doing nothing, then your friend walked in and asked you why you were not typing the document. You wanted to te...

Some good answers inside (I think).

Krishn Shweta

Yeah.. pretty much

Thanks.... And where is TIPS

Damkerng T.

6:11 AM

In his class, I guess. :D

Krishn Shweta

Which class???

Damkerng T.

Whichever one he has to take. :D

Is he student ?

Yes

I see....

6:12 AM

Oh, stumbled upon on YouTube!

Best Drummer Ever [HD]

►

Who needs a real drum set!

Krishn Shweta

OMG... He is really talented.

Damkerng T.

6:56 AM

1

A: Tense in a academic writing

When you are detailing a past event, it's natural and correct to use past tense. I walked to the store, then I looked for the produce section. I found some lettuce and then I went to the register, paid for my groceries, and left the store. However, there's a sense where the simple present ...

> However, if you don't want to do any of the above, e.g. if you are not entertaining or educating, then past tense is better to use.

Huh?!

(I almost choked!)

I think academic papers aren't novels. Why the past tense?!

Hmm... I haven't really tried to keep the stats, but I think it's almost always in the present tense.

Past: 1 Present: 6 Mixed: 1

(carried over) Past: 1 Present: 10 Mixed: 1

(carried over) Past: 2 Present: 12 Mixed: 1

(Just some random papers on my PC.)

Damkerng T.

7:29 AM

I wish I could read Russian...

CowperKettle

7:57 AM

> Notice to all!
Please don't let the cat inside the dorm! We already have 10 pregnant pussycats! (Administration)

Damkerng T.

LOL

LawrenceC

12:57 PM

@DamkerngT. I'll admit I haven't read a lot of academic papers ...

Damkerng T.

@LawrenceC I was truly surprised when I read that sentence!

BTW, welcome to the room!

Most papers on my PC are relatively recent (i.e., they're of this century). I haven't checked classic papers yet. Maybe the style has changed over the years.

LawrenceC

Thanks! I would also venture to say that present-tense narrative style would send a message that the described process should be reproducible. So it makes sense why a text describing an experiment or data gathering process would use that.

Damkerng T.

1:17 PM

nods -- could be part of the reason

Another tense that seems to be popular when talking about something the researchers did (or have done) is the present perfect.

(e.g., One approach has shown itself to be beneficial time and again ... or which we have used previously ...)

One interesting thing is some papers write This research was supported by DoD under ... even though the main tenses in these papers are the simple present and the present perfect.

Damkerng T.

2:07 PM

1

Q: What does motorist refers to who?

Source the trooper pulled over a motorist for a traffic violation, said motorist shot him. here Gaear Grimsrud is not a motorist,then motorist refers to who?

meaning-in-context

Hmm... how often do we drop the article before the adjective said?

CowperKettle

almost always, IMHO

Damkerng T.

It sounds almost wrong to me because I "read" it, not "listen" to it.

(Not to mention that comma splice.)

CowperKettle

3:00 PM

nods

CowperKettle

4:56 PM

If you have a list of equipment used in pharma validation procedure, and in the table there's a column with due dates of calibration, how would you name it?

> Calibration date

> Calibration due:

> Due calibration:

Translating tables is the worst thing

I should compile a set of examples of English-language native table headlines

Because reading usual books does not prepare one for translating official formulations in tables.

I mean, the stuff like "Approved by:", "Prepared by:", "Document flow control:"

Catija

Probably "Calibration due".

CowperKettle

I think so too.. thank you!

The original Russian is "Calibration period", which is not very logical, but is idiomatic in officialese

Catija

5:19 PM

Yeah, "calibration date" would imply that that was the date of the (last) calibration, which wouldn't make much sense here.

CowperKettle

nods

One can use "Next calibration:"

Catija

"due calibration" is the wrong order, so that's out. "Due for calibration" would be ok but it's longer.

CowperKettle

nods

CowperKettle

6:42 PM

It turns out we use "balance" in the singular, just as "scale"

Both are measuring instruments

CowperKettle

6:55 PM

Does one have to capitalize No.?

Or is it okay to write no.?

(meaning "number")

Do we use the term "expiration date" for small equipment parts?

Or do we use "shelf life end date" or something?

Anonymous

I think some people always capitalize No.

Anonymous

Then there are people like me who don't use that abbreviation at all.

Anonymous

We don't have to make the tough decisions in life :-)

Anonymous

The snail train is here!

Catija

Tooot Toooooooooot!

CowperKettle

7:15 PM

Here's to snails who never say No.!

Good evening. (0:

0

Q: "expiration date" for non-edible items

I have a table listing microbiology equipment supplies like microtubes, microplates etc. The rightmost column is called "срок годности" in Russian, which means "term of suitability", and is usually translated as "expiration date". The data in the column are in the format "12.2017" (month.year). ...

phrase-request

And good night!

Catija

@CowperKettle I tend to think of "expiration" in regards to food that will go bad.

CowperKettle

Me too, that's why I asked

I'd use "Use by date"

For equipment

But maybe there are more natural phrases

And meat, milk, and bread don't themselves "expire"; they're usually already dead. — StoneyB 30 secs ago

@StoneyB - yes, but they do expire in the sense that they go rotten, degraded biologically.

Thanks for the answer over there, Catija!

Færd

> This adjective is used of|for|about this thing.

(Example: 'Aweigh' is used of|for|about anchors.)

I know of works there, but am not sure about the other two.

Catija

7:32 PM

@CowperKettle Sure! Hope it's helpful. :D

Man_From_India

2

A: "He had left all he had" vs. "He had left all"

These two sentences have similar meanings: He left all he had to found an open entrance scholarship to the school. He had left all to found an open entrance scholarship to the school. Here "left" is used in the sense of "to bequeath," to pass on belongings or wealth after death. The word ...

With this meaning of found, does that sentence make sense? (i am talking about what is written in the answer)

I think that sentence is wrong.

found with a meaning of to build doesn't seem likely.

Færd

@Man_From_India Establish?

Man_From_India

I'm not very sure about the use of find or found there.

found as a verb seems less likely than find.

Færd

It's not the past tense of find.

Man_From_India

I got it.

Catija

7:47 PM

"I founded a school for learning English in 2000"... means "I established a school..."

Man_From_India

But then the sentence would mean that he was going to establish an open entrance scholarship to the school.

Doesn't it seem odd?

Færd

Well, you can found a scholarship (program).

From COCA:

> So she founded a scholarship, The DeCourvier Scholarship for Special Potential Students.

(and there are other examples.)

Man_From_India

Never knew about it. Thanks for the info :-)

Færd

It's more like founding an official scholarship program I guess, than a scholarship for one person.

Man_From_India

@Færd i guess so.

Færd

7:52 PM

@Man_From_India Sure.

I just learned it too. :)

Catija

It requires a lot more funding to found an annual scholarship. It's related to "foundation" macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/…

Færd

Do you mean to say that you can found a scholarship for one person?

Man_From_India

@Catija thanks, now I've no doubt.

Collocation dictionaries are not that helpful all the time :(

Færd

Explore corpora.

Catija

@Færd You might found a scholarship in honor of someone...

Færd

8:02 PM

Hmm

Yes you're right.

I guess I have to revise my understanding of scholarship.

Catija

There are at least two meanings of scholarship...

Færd

It's not a separate amount of money that is given to someone (which is not foundable); it's a program by definition, an opportunity you can get if you're good enough: that's foundable.

Catija

I don't think that a scholarship has to be founded... It could be a one-off. They're less common, though. Most scholarships come from funds and are given out on an annual or semester-based schedule.

Færd

Oh, so there are different kinds of scholarships, some you can found and some not.

Catija

You're not going to found a one-off scholarship. There's no reason to.

Færd

8:12 PM

True.

To me it doesn't make any sense to found that, be there a reason or not.

I guess you found an on-going program, not a one-off payment.

(one-off is a handy word; thanks!)

Catija

Anytime. also, ongoing doesn't need to be hyphenated. :D